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Lada and Morena
Lada and Morena (known informally as the Two Sisters) are two planets in the Epsilon Indi system claimed and colonised by the HRE. Both planets are officially considered "Martian" worlds, but such a description is very inaccurate. Both planets orbit the star inside its habitable zone, with Lada just outside of the inner boundary and Morena just a bit inside of outer boundary. Lada, planetary data Lada is a hot, dry desert planet, with a surface gravity of 0.93g and an atmospheric pressure similar to Earths. Unfortunately, most of the planets atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide and inert gases, with only traces amounts of oxygen and water vapor, just like the atmosphere of Mars. This atmosphere is considerably thicker than Mars' and, unlike Mars, Lada possess a significant magnetic field (which has prevented the solar winds from stripping the atmospheres). The crust of the planet is rich with metal ores, including many deposits of the so-called the rare-earth metals, which make this small colony a valuable resource supplier for HRE. Estimates suggest that Lada may have greater mineral reserves than either Earth or Linc. Despite the hostile enviroment Lada has a thriving and growing population, with over thirty thousand settlers inhabiting the planet in five major townships and scores of smaller settlements. Morena, planetary data Morena is an exact opposite of her "sister". While supporting nearly the same gravity (0.87g) and atmospheric pressure, this planet is experiencing an ice age. Scientists believe that Morena was originally a Garden, or rather an ocean world, that experienced a shift in its orbit, possibly as a result of an asteroid or cometary impact around twenty to thirty thousand years ago. Currently 89% of Morena`s surface is covered with ice sheets several kilometers thick, with only a narrow ring of habitable land around the equator. Surprisingly, the atmosphere of Morena possess relatively large amounts of oxygen, due to several types of native micro-organisms still living in the liquid water around the planet. Research has proved that this native life is harmless to terrestrial species. The only significant human presence on Morena are several scientific stations of the HRE. Great plans Both Lada and Morena are parts of ambitious terraformation plans. The HRE intends to build a massive installation of solar powerplants, to shield Lada from part of the solar heat. In addition, solar reflectors are supposed to be built around Morena to focus sunlight on the polar ice and melt it. Research has suggested that such reflectors would be required only during the initial phase of terraforming. With the ice mostly gone, planetary albedo will be adequate to receive enough heat by itselt. The second problem was, that the same research tells that if the ice of Morena melts, the planet will became an ocean once again. So, the second part of the plan is to build a pair of orbital elevators, one on each planet, to lift ores from Lada and water ice from Morena. Ice will be partially used for propellant refueling of the spaceships, but mostly just transported and dropped onto Lada`s surface, to raise the humidity and build a first sea for terraformation microorganisms and algae. These organisms will then begin converting the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Lada into oxygen. It is estimated that once fully operational the elevator on Morena will be capable of lifting around 400 to 420 tons of water into orbit every day Category:Colony Worlds Category:Terraformation Category:HRE Colonies